New leadership standards for officers, staff and volunteers

We've released our leadership standards, which apply to everyone in policing, including staff and volunteers. They set out the knowledge, understanding, skills and behaviours expected of effective leaders, whatever their rank or role.

Leadership for everyone

Everyone in policing has a leadership role, from new recruit to chief officer. Whether it's taking the lead when responding to an incident, mentoring a colleague, delivering a project or managing a team or department, officers and police staff are required to show leadership from the first day of their career to the last. This is often in situations more extreme than those faced by many other professions.

As part of our commitment to change the future of police leadership, (PDF, 5.7KB) we're training and supporting leaders to:

• build trust
• improve performance
• protect the public

Our standards are intended to prepare the service for the complex and evolving challenges facing modern policing. They set the expectation for all police professionals to:

• uphold the Code of Ethics
• contribute to an inclusive workplace culture
• challenge unprofessional actions

This is the hardest time for policing I can remember in almost 40 years’ service and we cannot continue along this path. Something radical must be done. 

Policing must have high quality leaders at every rank and grade. We know about 80 per cent of officers and staff choose not to move beyond the rank of police constable so it cannot be right that leadership training is only given to those who seek promotion. 

We can no longer afford to underinvest in the people we expect to lead. Everyone in policing should be given the leadership training and development they need so they are fully equipped to solve more crimes, keep people safe and call out internal bad behaviour. 

While the College of Policing is leading this work, it will only be achieved with the support and dedication of everyone in policing and I hope colleagues across the service will fully commit to this new approach.

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, College of Policing CEO

Leaders will be expected to apply problem-solving approaches, manage wellbeing and support continuing professional development. 

The standards cover:

• problem solving
• effective communication
• decision-making skill
• leading high-performing teams
• team wellbeing
• resilience
• challenging unacceptable behaviour

By completing development opportunities through our police leadership programme and meeting our leadership standards, officers, staff and volunteers will be equipped to drive performance, create a positive culture and inspire the trust and confidence of the public.

Standards for effective leadership